Ana Bilankov on Berlin's evolving art scene and Eastern European identity

Ana Bilankov, a Croatian-born artist based in Berlin, discusses her artistic practice and experiences in the city. Her 2009 video work Blue Black Berlin, shot at night behind the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, explores the tension between peace and war through abstract imagery and sound by composer Tyler Friedman. Bilankov arrived in Berlin in 1999 after studying art in Wiesbaden, drawn by the city's avant-garde reputation and urban culture. She participated in the postgraduate program "The Fine Arts in Context" at the University of the Arts in Berlin, where she engaged in collaborative projects and co-founded the art education group Kunstcoop© at Neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst. Bilankov notes Berlin's transformation, with previously undefined spaces like those near the Berlin Wall disappearing, and describes challenges for artists, including intense competition among over 10,000 visual artists and limited exhibition opportunities. She received support from Berlin grants for residencies in Moscow and New York. Her 2011 film U Ratu I Revoluciji connects personal and political memory, featuring her grandmother and referencing the disappearance of her grandfather's book The School in War and Revolution, published in Zagreb in 1988. Bilankov reflects on Eastern Europe's significance in her work, particularly after a 2004 trip to Moscow, but rejects labels like "West Balkan artist." The interview was conducted in Berlin Pankow in October 2018.